I’ve been so swamped and have been lagging on Chasing James Beard posts, but am hoping to get back into the groove. Have so many reviews and recipes to post. A while back, I went on a chocolate tour at the Mast Brother Chocolate factory in Brooklyn. It was $10 a person and definitely worth the $10. Derek, our guide, was extremely knowledgeable, easy going and friendly. You would think that he would be bored of giving these tours over and over again, but you never get that impression. Great guy.

Head to MastBrothers.com to see how to sign up for the tour. It was really interesting to see how these beans from all around the world got made in things like black truffle chocolate, sea salt chocolate, Stumptown coffee chocolate and more. I’m actually sucking on a black truffle chocolate square right now. The chocolate that I purchased after the tour all contained at least 71% cacao. It’s really intense and strong in flavor. While I can make my way through an entire box of Godivas like an addict, Mast Brother chocolate is very powerful and has very little sugar. You eat a few squares of it and feel satisfied and won’t want anymore. Now don’t get me wrong, I still love Godivas (probably eat a piece a day), but Mast Brothers is a different type of chocolate, so it’s hard to compare the two.

Keep scrolling to get a sneak peek of what you will see on the tour. Hope you have fun if you go! And just be warned, the aroma of chocolate as soon as you step into the shop will make you feel intoxicated. No joke.

Bags of cacao beans they source from around the world.

Shifting of the beans to get rid of debris.

Cacao nibs we tasted during the tour. They also carry a cacao nib chocolate bar.

Husks being separated from the beans.

Empty grinder.

Beans being grinded. How creamy does that look?

Chocolate is poured, named, dated and left to set.

Just a closer view.

How it looks after it sets. Doesn’t it just look like old chocolate?

Derek demonstrates how the chocolate actually crumbles in your fingers. After this is will be tempered so that it is silky and smooth in our mouths (insert dirty joke here, you know you are thinking of one).

Chocolate being poured into molds.

Finishing touches being added before bars are beautifully wrapped. And then you are brought back to the shop area to taste different chocolates.